Refrigerator construction



May 10, 1938. CRQSLEY' JR, ET AL 2,116,619

REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Jan. 19, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet l rl/l J A 26 I $2 INVENTORS.

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I? it /4 May 10, 1938. CROSLEY JR, ET AL 2,116,619

REFR IGERATOR CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Jan. 19, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. RWEI. CROSLEKc/k. Alva P04 Alva lzf Man/7.

ATTORNEYS.

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ATTORNEYS.

May 10, 1938. CRO LE R, T A 2,116,619

REFRIGERATOR CONS TRUCTION Original Filed Jan. 19, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 25 INVENTORS.

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ATTORNEYS.

y 1938. P. CROSLEY, JR.. ET AL 2,116,619

REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Jan. 19, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet e al vw ATTORNEYS.

I use of the refrigerator.

Patented May 10, 1938' UNITED STATES 2,116,619 REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION Powel Crosley, .n-., and Roland H.- Money, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to The Crosley Radio Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application January 19. 1934. Serial No. 707,370. Divided and this application May 4.

1935, Serial N0. 19,864

3 Claim.

This application is a division of our copending application, Ser. No. 707,370, filed January 19, 1934, which became Patent 2,047,996 on July 21, 1936. l or Our invention relates to refrigerator cabinets used in mechanical refrigeration and relates to structural features providing for additional storage, more convenient operation and other structural advantages of. convenience and. ap-

pearance.

In order to provide for a convenient height to the lower shelves of refrigerator cabinets, it has been the practice to place thecabinet upon legs of sufficient height, thus leaving a space below the said cabinet. In some constructions this space is utilized for housing the compressor elements for mechanical refrigeration. In some constructions also, the cabinet has been extended above the refrigeration compartment to provide a compartment above it, in which are housed the compressor elements aforesaid.

According to our invention, we employ a cabinet with a door, which in addition to enclosing the open front of the refrigeration compartment, also forms a closure for an additional compartment, which will be located preferably at the space between the floor and the bottom of the refrigerator compartment, rather than a space above the said refrigerator compartment. Also it is part of our invention to extend the door beyond the refrigeration compartment at the opposite side from the additional compartment for which the door forms a closure, so as to provide an extension for the door within which may be housed a tiltable shelf or the like, serving as a supporting tray in the Furthermore, we may utilize the door as a compartment forming, memberin portions thereof which serve to close the refrigeration compartment, as has heretofore been suggested, which compartment, together with the tiltable shelf or tray, provides a convenient way of supporting articles when shifting them about in the refrigeration compartment or in the door compartment or between the two compartments.

Also in connection with the additional compartment, which our invention provides will be closed by the same door as the main compartment, we propose to enclose this compartment except for the said door opening thereby, enabling us to maintain in this additional compartment some degrees lower temperature than the room temperature in which the,device is located.

Other advantages incident to our invention will be stated in the ensuing specification, which describes in detail a preferred construction and some modifications thereof, same being illustrated in the appended drawings. ,The novelty inherent in the several structures described will be set forth in the claims that follow, there being no intent that the details. described other than as they are incorporated in said claims together with their mechanical equivalents,

should be considered as of the essence of our invention.

In the drawings:- Figure 1 is a front view of bodying our invention in .its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a vertical front-to-rear section of the same.

Fig. 3 is aparti'al similar section of the upper part of the door only, with the support lowered for use.

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan, the door. being in section on the line 44 of Fig. 3, showing the support as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a partial inside elevation of the door, and of the support, as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the receptacle preferably used on the lower part of the door as seen in Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a partial section of the upper part of the door and adjacent part of the cabinet, showing a modification in which the support is mounted on the cabinet.

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the support used in the example of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan of a portion of the cabinet and a portion of the door, the door being open, showing a modification in which means is provided for automatically moving the support from one of its positions to the other.

Fig. 10 is a partial vertical section on the line l0, i 01' Fig. 9.

, Figs. 11 and 12 are views similar to Fig. 2, showing modifications.

In Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, the cabinet I has the insulated back and side walls 2 and 3, respectively, the insulated bottom I, and the front wall with an opening to the main compartment 6 as well known in the art. Also, as is well known, the upper part of the cabinet in which the compressor 6a is contained is made with continuous side and front non-insulated walls! and 8 respectively, and the non-insulated removable top I0. The bottom ll of this upper portion or compartment of the cabinet a refrigerator emis insulated and below this bottom Ii, in the 5 u perpart of the compartment 3, is the evapora r 3b, from which there is circulation of air cooled by this evaporator apparatus 3b downward in the compartment 3 for cooling articles stored therein on shelves 3c. I

We prefer to omit the usual legs of the cabinet and instead provide below the compartment 3, an

. additional compartment, which usually will be a few degrees cooler than the surrounding room. being suitable for storage of articles that. are not so perishable as those usually stored in the main, effectively cooled compartment 3. As here shown, this lower compartment is provided by connecting to the usual outer metal shell of the main part of the cabinet I, a shell l2 of box like shap open at its bottom and also at its front; and on the bottom of this shell i2 is secured an additional shallow base shell I3, also open at top and bottom but having its four sides continuous. It may have short feet ll.

The door l5, intermediate of its end portions, is similar to refrigerator doors known in the art; being made up of metal sheets formed to desired shape and secured to interior frame structure preferably of wood, made up of a top piece IS, a bottom piece l1, and side pieces l8. Additional filling pieces, preferably of wood, as at I! and 20, support inwardly distended parts 2| of the door inner shell plate, which lap inside the cabinet front opening, and fitted with breaker strips, in a usual manner. These parts, however, are so formed as to provide a recess in the interior of the door, in which is removably' mounted article storage support means 22,- according to the patent and the application hereinafter mentioned. As here shown, this support has shelves 23, and is made as a unit "and hung on hooks 23 within the recess, according to the patent to West, Reissue No. 19,008, the application of Crosley and Austin, Ser. No. 668,091, filed April 26, 1933, to which reference is hereby made.

The door has its structure continued upwardly a substantial distance, as well as downwardly a substantial distance, above and below the front opening of main compartment 6 which it closes. The extended side frame pieces l3 of the door support, at their upper and lower ends, transverse frame pieces 25, preferably of wood, which cutwardly have the desired curvature to support the front metal shell plate, with thin-edged formation imparting the desired pleasing appearance to the front of the refrigerator. These transverse pieces 25 have rabbets 23 and 30 respectively, in their inner edges, and the outer metal door plate is flanged around and set into the thin outer edges of these pieces, as at 26, in a usual manner. Thus constructed, the door has at the top and at the bottom, the recesses 21 and 23,- respectively, left within the extended frame elements and augmented by the rabbeting.

As an article support to be used on the upper extension of the door, we prefer to provide a rack in the form of round wirebent into a U- shape, wide in proportion to the depth of the U. The bottom member 3| of the U-shape has atAits middle a, U-shaped bend 32 extending at right angles to the side members 33 of the U-shape. Metal strips are bent to form hinge loops 33, which embrace the bottom member 3| at opposite sides of the bend or extension 32 thereof and are fastened, as by screws, to the bottom of the recess 21; and when the rack is swung down on these hinges, it extends out of this recess for a considerable distance as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, and the middle extension or bend 32 then stands bracket member is swung up on its hinges 34 to a vertical position within the recess 21, the bend or extension 32 forces this detent element inwardly of the recess, to snap over the extension 32 and hold the bracket in this raised DOSltlOlL Thii brac t has on its side members 33 lateral extensio 38, preferably by welding L-shaped wires to the members; and two chains-31 are provided, each with'its lower end connected to the outer end of a respective one of these extensions 36 and its other end connected to upper parts of the inner faces of the adjacent door frame pieces l8. These chains are flexible, and when the bracket folds upwardly, drop within the side portions of the recess 21; and when the bracket is extended, they support it in substantially horizontal position. The outer end portions of the side members 33 of the bracket, at 33, are flared or bent laterally outwardly.

To be removably mounted on the bracket just described, we prefer to provide a tray 39, of pressed sheet metal, with a low upturned rim: 40, and, adjacent opposite ends, which will be laterally positioned when the tray is on the bracket, hand holes ll, preferably having their edges 32 slightly turned up to afford the desired smoothness. On its bottom, this tray 39 has Z-shaped metal strips 43 with their lower members spaced down from the tray bottom surface and extending outwardly; being so located that they will receive the respective side members 33 of the bracket with a snug sliding fit, for the tray to be slid in onto-the bracket and held without rattling. The outward bending of the bracket side members at 33, facilitates the starting of this application of the tray to the bracket.

It will be seen that, with the door open and the bracket, with the tray thereon, lowered, any articles which it is desired may be temporarily supported while rearranging or gaining access to other articles, either within the main compartment 8 or upon the support that is on the intermediate part of the door, such as the means 22,

may be readily placed on the tray or removed therefrom. Upon closing the bracket and tray upwardly, the tray 39 is accommodated in the inner portion of the recess 21, with the bracket entirely within the recess, permitting the door to be closed; whereupon the bracket and tray are concealed by the door upward extension, between the latter and the front of the upper portion of the cabinet. This upper extension of the door then presents the appearance of closing a compartment opening that extends close to the top of -the cabinet.

At the bottom of the refrigerator, within the structure made up of the shells l2 and i3 as before described, we prefer to provide a receptacle or bin 34, having a front 45 and bottom 46 joined by a curve of ample radius, and sides 31 of generally triangular shape having their upper edges extending straight from the top corners of the front to the rear corners of the bottom 46; so that the bin may be described as scoop-shaped. At its front a flange 33 extends forward along the top edge and is fixed to the lower flanged edge 49 of the front opening of the shell I2; andat its rear, a flange 50 extends up from its edge and is fixed to the rear wall of this shell I 2, at such a height that the bin as a whole has a forwardly and.downwardly inclined posture in the base structure of the refrigerator and is readily accessible for placing articles therein or removing articles therefrom through the front opening of.

The front opening of the shell I2 is closed bythe downward extension of the door; and in the recess '28 of this extension 9. basket-like receptacle is supported, extending in from the extension 3 and occupying the front portion of the base interior by entrance through the front opening of the shell l2 when the door is closed. This receptacle preferably is formed of an upper loop of wire 52 and a like 'lower loop 53, the two joined by vertical slat wires 54 at the ends and front. Similar slat wires 55 join the front and rear members of the bottom loop 53, forming a bottom. The loop wires preferably are round, and the slat wires flat and welded to the loop wires.

Upwardly opening hooks 56 are fixed to the in'- ner faces of the rabbets of the side members l8 of the door frame, in positions to receive the upper and lower members 52 and 53, so that the receptacle may hang firmly in the lower door extension, or be readily removed therefrom.

The bin or receptacle M, and this basket-like receptacle 5| do not necessarily extend across the entire width of the space in the base, which may contain at one side, in certain refrigerator con structions, part of the refrigerating apparatus. These receptacles however are here shown as extending the full width; it being understood that it is not essential that part of the refrigerating mechanism be contained in the base.

Inasmuch as refrigeration involves evaporation within the food compartment, fresh vegetables and fruits, particularly those of an excessively porous nature or those having a very porous covering, could be thus refrigerated only at the sacrifice of the water content thereof resulting in deterioration and reduced food value and probable monetary loss as well, unless the same were kept in enclosed vessels within the compartment. These lower receptacles serve for storage of such articles.

While affording these added advantages in a refrigerator and increasing its capacity, the extension of the door down near to the bottom of the cabinet base affords the appearance, at the front of the refrigerator, when the door is closed, of one in which a single compartment extends into the base.

The best effect is attained with such provision at both the top and bottom, simplifying and improving the ornamental design in keeping with.

modern ideas of design. It will be understood that the wire structure, such as the basket like receptacle, the bracket, and the fittings for these, are preferably tinned; and that the tray used at the top, as well as the interior portions of the door involved in our improvement, may be plete, corresponds to the bracket on which the tray 39 .rests in the previous example; being made up, as best seen in Fig. 8, of a wire loop 51.

forming a rectangular frame, with longitudinal slats 58 having their ends welded to the end members of the frame; the loop wire being preferably round and the slats bein flat wire.

Instead of having an extension outward to engage a detent, this frame is formed with an inward extension 59 by bending the wire inward at one side. Hinges 60 bolted to the sheet metal front wall 9a of the cabinet receive the lateral portions of the frame side, at each side of the extension 53; so that the support thus formed is adapted to be swung up or down. When up close to the wall 911, the extension 59 engages with a resilient detent 5|, also bolted to the wall 9a, this being its position as shown in Fig. 7. Chains 52 are connected to side extensions 63 of the frame 51 and to bolted connections 54 on the wall 9a, limiting the lowering of the support, as will be understood from the illustration and description of the bracket in the first example. The door extension recess 21, instead of having the support carried in it, makes room for the support that is mounted on the cabinet wall, when the door is closed and the support folded up to the wall.

In the example of Figs. 9 and 10, the support is mounted on the upper door extension, as in the first example, and comprises the bracket, with its side members 33 and its bottom or cross member 3i, understood to be made with an extension to engage a detent, not shown, as in the first example, and to receive a tray, not shown, as in that example. It has the side extensions 36 connected by chains to the door side frame members i8, as in the first example. We have added,

in this modification, means to cause the support to swing up within the recess 21 of the'door extension automatically incident to the movement of the door relative to the cabinet, in closing, and to drop down, after automatic release from the detent, incident to opening movement of the door.

As here shown, this provision comprises a bent rod or wire 85, having at one end a loop or eye by which it is connected to a hinge member 55 fixed on the side of the front wall 5 far enough out of alignment with the hinges 61 of the door to impose a crank-like operation upon this rod 65, were it considered thatthe cabinet swung around on the door; the effect being the same when the door is swung on the cabinet. The hinge member or pivot 66 being located offside and inward from the line of the hinges 61, the effect is, when the door is closed, to cause the rod 65 to move endwise relatively to the door, toward the middle of the door. In so doing, a hump 68, formed by bending the rod 55 near its free end, which is inclined upwardly and forwardly as seen in Fig. 10, is forced under the side member 33 of the support, swinging the support upwardly until, when the side member 33 has ridden onto the top portion 69 of this hump,

the support is fully swung up into the recess 21 of the door extension; and it will be understood ,that its extension then will engage the detent,

not shown, and the support will be held in raised position.

when the door is opened, the relative movement of the wire or rod 55 is in the opposite direction, that is, toward the side of the door. The support will remain detained in its raised position until its side member 33 is engaged from the opposite side by an upwardly and forwardly inclined curved hook-like end portion 10 of the rod or wire 65. The shape of this portion 10 is such that the rod or wire 85 thus will pull the support loose from the detent and permit it to ride down the hump 6. to lowered position; its downward swinging being limited by the chains 31. The side frame member ll of the door extension has a groove II to accommodate this rod or wire 65 within the inner face of the door, so that it does not interfere with the closing of the door.

It will be seen that this automatic closing provision makes the device much more convenient to operate, and avoids chance of damaging the parts should a person close the door without first raising the support, as might occur in the first example. However, we find that the apparatus is quite practical without the automatic provision; and it will be understood that we may construct our invention either with or without this provision, according to conditions that are to be met.

In Fig. 11, we have shown a modification in which the storage compartment with the bin 44 is placed at the top and the compartment for the compressor 6a is placed at the bottom. In this modification also the door is provided with the basket 5i at the top and with the shelf or tray 39 at the bottom of the cabinet. Otherwise the construction of the cabinet is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 2, the modifications consisting merely in the change of location of the parts.

In the modification shown in Fig. 12, the construction is like that of Fig. 2, except that instead of having a rack hinged to the inner side of the upward extension of the door, on which a tray is removably mounted, the hinged structure is complete in itself, as a shelf. On the bottom of the recess 21 are hinge clips 34a, each with a longer lower'part screwed to the bottom of the recess and a shorter upper part curving upward from the inner end of the longer lower part and extending outward with a slight downward and upward bend. The shelf is made up of a rectangular loop or frame a of heavy round wire, with slats 43b of lighter fiat wire extending transversely and having their ends welded to the side members of the loop 43a. The lower side member of this loop or frame 43a is removably held in the curves of the members or clips 34a. Thus ,frame within the rabbet 2!; the clip 35o having an outwardly extended part curved to receive and hold the shelf in its raised position, yet readily release it when it is pulled downward.

Other modifications may occur, .and we do not wish to be understood as being limited to the precise disclosures herein; but what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In a refrigerator cabinet including a food storage compartment having an access opening therein, a door for closing the access opening, said door including an inner wall, a removable transfer tray, a member hinged to the inner wall for supporting the tray, whereby the support and transfer tray may be disposed either horizontally with respect to the door or substantially parallel to and adjacent to the inner wall of the door, and latching means for retaining the support and tray in the vertical position with re-- spect to the inner wall when the tray is not in use.

2. A refrigerator cabinet including a food storage compartment having an access opening therein, a door having an inner wall for closing the access opening, a removable transfer tray, and an articulated member attached to the inner wall of the door and rotatable upwardly for selectively retaining the removable tray either horizontally when in use, or substantially parallel to and adjacent to the inner wall of the door when not in use.

'3. In a refrigerator construction, an article support made up of a U-shaped frame, its bottom portion forming means for hinging the frame to a supporting part of the construction to swing between vertical and horizontal positions on an axis which is horizontal thereon, and the sides of the U-shape serving asa tray support, and a tray having means on its bottom to slide between said sides and engage thereunder.

POWEL CROSLEY, JR. ROLAND H. MONEY. 

